Journal #2: Manners

Once upon a time, there was a hedgehog named Hank. Hank was an adventurer, backpacking through the wilderness of Cleveland. One day while out in the forest, Hank stumbled across a wild blackberry patch. Because he was living off of cheap diner food and saltines, Hank decided that he would pick blackberries and eat them.

While he picked his blackberries, Hank noticed that the forest had gone eerily quiet. He thought nothing of it, and just continued to pick berries. But then, he heard a loud growling noise and turned around. Standing in front of him was a huge black bear named Burt. The blackberry bushes belonged to Burt, and he was very angry to find Hank the hedgehog stealing the berries. But Hank did not know the bushes belonged to Burt, so he was very confused and scared.

Burt continued to growl and roar, so Hank just took off and ran like the wind. Now, when you're a scrawny little hedgehog like Hank, it is very hard to run like the wind. Not long after he started to run for his life, Hank became very tired. He knew that Burt was probably right on his heels, but he was just seconds away from giving up and facing the wrath that Burt would bring down on him.

Just as Hank was about to slow down, there was suddenly an even louder commotion behind him. Still running, Hank looked over his shoulder and was stunned to see that Burt had stopped chasing him, and was having an extremely heated discussion with a moose who looked very angry. Finally slowing to a stop and taking a breath, Hank turned around and moved a little closer to the arguing bear and moose, forgetting about his safety and just focusing on what in the world was happening between the other two.

Upon coming closer, Hank was delighted to hear that Burt was being chastised by the moose, who's name was Mauve. When Hank came even closer, Burt turned around, and Hank froze. But Burt did not attack Hank. The moose gave Burt a pointed look, and Burt grudgingly apologized to Hank, telling him that he could continue to pick blackberries so that he would have food to eat.

Then Burt bumbled away, looking very ashamed and put off. Hank began thanking Mauve profusely, and Mauve simply said 'you're welcome', and headed off on her own way, having accomplished what needed to be done.

Journal #1 Native American Culture

I do not know very much about Native American culture. I know that some of them lived in tepee's and some of them lived in longhouses. Thanks to my love of Pocahontas, I also know that some tribes in certain areas grew crops, like corn, and hunted to get their food. When the Native Americans hunted, they very rarely let any part of the dead animal go to waste. They used animal skin for clothing and tepee's, they used animal bones for weapons and tools, and they used animal meat for food. The other parts of the animal were used for various things that they needed.

Native American tribes usually had chiefs who were in charge of everything. While men were the hunters and leaders, women also held some standing in their society. They controlled their homes and were often shown respect within the communities.

Many Native Americans had strong spiritual beliefs. Different tribes believed in different spirits, and they often had legends to go along with the spirits. One tribe, which I cannot remember the name of, worshiped the sun god because at night, they were afraid the sun would not come up in the morning, and they knew that would lead to their downfall. Many other tribes believed in the sun god, but they all had slightly different beliefs surrounding this sun god. Some tribes, like the Aztecs, believed the best way to pay homage to the gods was to have lots of sacrifices- human sacrifices. They sacrificed people, most of the time their prisoners, to the gods in violent ceremonies, such as one called 'The Watering of the Graves'. The Aztecs would take their prisoners and dress them up, and would then drop them on top of the graves of their ancestors. Then they would proceed to beat and kill the prisoners on top of the graves as a homage to their ancestors.

I apparently do know a little bit about Native American culture, but it still isn't very much.

Journal: Symbolism

The symbolism found in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury ranges from fire and heat to "The Hearth and the Salamander".

As the reader can expect from a novel about burning books, Fahrenheit 451 has a lot to do with fire. In the novel, fire seems to mean different things at different moments. Beatty and the other firemen use fire as a form of destruction, but at the end of the novel, Montag discovers an alternate use to fire- for warmth. Like the cycle of life, fire is a symbol of repeated destruction and rebirth.

Bradbury uses "The Hearth and the Salamander" as a conjunctive symbol. The hearth, or fireplace, is a traditional symbol of 'home', while the salamander is a symbol for the firemen. Both of these images have a connection with fire- the hearth contains the fire that warms a home, and the salamander because of the ancient beliefs that the salamander can live in fire and be unaffected by it.

Final Thoughts

Out of all of the summer books I read for the blogs, The Catcher and the Rye by J.D. Salinger was by far my favorite and was the one that I thought was best. I thought it had a better storyline than the others, and I thought that is was easier to read and understand than the other two. Holden Caulfield was not a reliable narrator and was not always a good person, but I found him easy to relate to on some levels because there is no one in the world that is perfect. Holden may not always acknowledge it, but he is the perfect example of regular, totally normal imperfection. Holden tries to do the right thing but sometimes ends up being completely wrong, and I understand that and think a lot of people would be able to relate to that aspect of Holden's character.

My least favorite summer reading book was The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. I found the author's writing extremely boring and nearly impossible to get through, and while I did sympathize with the main character, I did not find the book at all interesting or even remotely good. I thought it was a terrible book, not just for the writing, but also for the story that was told. It was very boring even during the high point, and the resolution of the conflict was totally unsatisfying. I also felt like it was harder to understand the situations and the characters because of the way that the dialogue was written and even the way the rest of the novel was written.

I did not think The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck was bad, but it was not a story that particularly interested me. I thought the writing was good and a lot of the characters were easy to understand to relate to, but I did not really enjoy the storyline. I like history, but the time period was not one that interested me, and as a result it was harder for me to get through the novel and understand everything that was going on in the story and with all of the characters.

"Friendship" Quotes

The friendship between the old man and the boy is a big part of the novel. They both try to take care of each other and enjoy having a companion, and they each want the best for the other. There are a lot of quotes in The Old Man and the Sea that explain the slightly unconventional relationship between the old man and the boy:

"..."Santiago," the boy said to him as they climbed the bank from where the skiff was hauled up. "I could go with you again. We've made some money."..." -Day One

The boy (Manolin) enjoys spending time with the old man (Santiago). The old man was the one who taught the boy to fish, and as a result the old man is kind of an important role model for the boy. Even though the old man has not been successful and revered for a very long time, the boy knows how much skill the old man has.

"The old man taught the boy to fish and the boy loved him." -Day One

Because of their common bond of fishing, the old man and they boy developed a very important relationship before the novel even started. The old man shared his skills and love of fishing with the boy, and in return the boy remained loyal to him and cared for him like he was his own father or grandfather.

The old man and the boy's friendship is based on mutual respect. They trust each other and greatly respect each other for just who they are, and that results in understanding and friendship. They find themselves lonely without the company of each other, and the old man often wishes that the boy was with him while he was out at sea battling against the marlin. The old man also first liked the boy because of his helpfulness and assistance, especially when the boy was young and the two first went fishing together.

Conflict

The main conflict in The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway is very simple and straightforward. It is external, man vs. man- the old man vs. the giant marlin. The conflict is carried over a period of several days, and then after the falling action, the reader can almost feel the effects that the conflict has had on the old man.

The old man has not caught a fish in eighty four days, and he is starting to become a disgrace. He used to be so skilled and competent, and now it seems that he is not. But things start to look up for the old man when he goes out to sea alone one day and finally manages to snag a giant fish on his line. It is a marlin, longer than the old man's boat and purple in color. The old man knows that he needs to catch this fish- his reputation depends on it and he can finally feel like a successful fishermen again.

But even after he has captured the fish, the conflict is not over. Now he has to fight the fish. Man and fish are both holding on tight, neither wanting to let go and lose. And this carries on for hours and hours and hours. Neither of them are willing to give up, and both the old man and the marlin seem willing to hold on until death.

Finally after a lot of pain and trouble and weakening, the old man manages to kill the marlin with a harpoon. But still, the conflict is not over. The old man still has to bring the fish back to land, and when he starts to do so, a shark is attracted to the marlin. The old man has no choice other than to kill the shark, but the blood in the water attracts even more sharks and there is nothing the old man can do as the sharks devour the entire marlin and he has to go back to his fishing village with nothing at all to show for his great conflict. It is resolved, but definitely does not have a happy ending for either of the two involved.

"Skill" Quotes

The theme of skill is present in the novel because of the great fishing skill that the old man possesses. He may not be able to show all of his skill and prowess because of his old age, but it is skill there within him and will always will be. Because of this, there are several quotes in the novel that show the importance of the theme of 'skill':

"..."But are you strong enough for a truly big fish?"..."I think so. And there are many tricks."..." -Day One

"I may not be as strong as I think." The old man said. "But I know many tricks and I have resolution." -Day One

When asked about his abilities, the old man knows that he is no longer as strong as he was back when he was known as the best fisherman around and the 'El Campeon'. But he no longer relies on the strength of his aging body- he choices to instead rely on the skill that he still has left.

"He was rowing steadily and it was no effort for him...he was letting the current do a third of the work and as it started to be light he saw that he was already further out than he had hoped to be at this hour." -Day Two

The old man knows many tricks of the sea, and uses these little tidbits of knowledge to give him small advantages. Instead of wearing himself out by just getting out to sea, he allows the current to carry him part of the way and manages to conserve some of the energy that he will need to fish.

"The old man held the line delicately, and softly, with his left hand, unleashed it from the stick." -Day Two

It is clear how at ease and comfortable the old man feels while he does his job, and the skills he has acquired over the years allow him to do this.

Writing Style

There is definitely no argument that Ernest Hemingway is a great classic writer. However, it is also very obvious just how classic he is. Hemingway writes The Old Man and the Sea in an extremely unique way. Most authors tend to try and style away from too many choppy, simple sentences, but not Hemingway. He embraces this style of writing and takes off with it, making parts of The Old Man and the Sea hard to get through and very choppy.

The sentences in The Old Man and the Sea are very simple. Not all of them run together very well. Even when describing things the sentences are kept choppy and short. Sometimes the simple sentences are even drawn out too far.

But Hemingway is famous for his style- his factual, short sentences and declarative sentences. He uses an abundance of prepositional phrases, as well. Even though his writing can be very dreary, it is his own classic style and it is simply the way that he wrote. A lot of people in this time period wrote in the same way as Hemingway, but he put a slightly different spin on the small, short, and choppy sentences and slightly flat words and made the style his own, distinct and recognizable.

The Old Man and the Sea is not really a novel, it is a novella. And Hemingway made everything about this piece of fiction short. The story. The sentences. The captivation for the reader. Hemingway is definitely a great writer, an iconic one, but some of the writing in The Old Man and the Sea is just too hard to get into because of the way the sentences are formed. But given the writing of today, when authors and writers are encouraged to use compound sentences, simple sentences, and complex-compound sentences within a piece of work, Hemingway did well with the kind of writing style that he used in his works of literature.

Setting

The setting of the old man in the sea is pretty simple. The novel takes place in Cuba, somewhere near Havana, taking place time wise sometime during the 1940's. But most of the novel takes place out at sea (mostly the waters of the Gulf of Mexico), hence the very fitting title of The Old Man and the Sea. The important part of the novel does not take place in the fishing village or in the old man's hut, but out at sea while the old man has the fishing battle of his life with the giant purple marlin.

During the novel the old man does not just battle the big marlin fish, though, he also has mini battles with the elements of the environment while he is out at sea. The bright sun hurts his eyes, and the sharp, bitter chill of the night air is too cold for comfort. The old man is also very in tune with certain parts of his environment. He tends to interact with the environment around him, commenting on and admiring the sun and the moon and the stars during the night. The old man appreciates things like the stars and moon and sun while he is out at sea, even though the sun continues to hurt his eyes and the moon is sometimes too bright for his liking.

Santiago spends the majority of his time and most of the novel sitting in his little skiff out at sea fishing. The old man feels comfortable there- he is used to fishing and was once an extremely great fishermen. Although his mind and body have both aged, the old man still has those fishing skills somewhere inside of them, and a part of the sea brings out the younger side of him. The old man is not as comfortable on land, because I think that over his many years of fishing, the sea kind of became a part of him.

"Defeat" Quotes

In the novel The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, the protagonist and main character, Santiago, faces a lot of defeat in a relatively short ammout of time. First, he has not caught a fish for eighty four days, as he states as the novel begins. Then, after wrestling with a giant marlin and finally being able to catch and kill it, the old man faces an even bigger defeat as sharks eat all the meat off of the marlin before he can get the fish back home. There is a great deal of defeat in the novel, and there are also a lot of quotes that go along with the theme:

"But a man is not made for defeat." He said. "A man can be destroyed but not defeated." -Day Four

The old man is not really clear if he is eve truly defeated. For all the reader knows, he can just be destroyed. But either one sounds not very pleasant, and it is true that the old man has been shut down while trying to do several things.

"Now they have beaten me, he thought. I am too old to club the sharks to death. But I will try it as long as I have the oars and the short club and the tiller." -Day Four

This is the point when the old man is basically admitting defeat, even though he does not say it straight out. The old man does not want to acknowledge that he has been defeated, at least not at that point when he is still battling with the sharks even though he knows he probably will not be able to fight them off.

"I know how to care for them. In the night I spat something strange and felt something in my chest was broken." -Day Five

Even though the old man will probably not admit complete defeat, he cannot deny that he is physically defeated, at least. His body was too old to do what he did while out at sea fighting the marlin and the sharks, so his body is going to have to pay for it and suffer.

"Pride" Quotes

The old man is character in The Old Man and the Sea that has a lot of pride to his name. He is proud even when he does not really have anything to be proud of, and the old man is proud of his past. Pride is a present theme in the novel, and there are some quotes that show its importance:

"No. I know others better." -Day One

When the old man is complimented and called the best fisherman, he is humble but still proud that he is among the best, or that he used to be. The old man has both pride and humbleness, two characteristics that can do well when brought together.

"I wish he'd sleep and I could see and dream about the lions, he thought. Why are the lions the main thing that is left?" -Day Three

The old man dreams about lions often, and he seems to like lions. One thing he admires about them is their pride. The old man is not the only proud thing in the novel- the lions in his dreams are proud as well.

"He took all his pain and what was left of strength and his long gone pride and he put it into the fish's agony." -Day Four

Although the reader first thinks that the old man 'has no loss of pride', he says himself that his pride is gone when he loses the marlin to the sharks in the water on his way back home. This is a breaking point for the old man, when things really start weighing down on him and causing him all kinds of pain. However, once he gets to recuperate a little, the old man gets his pride back and returns to his normal character.

"Nothing." He said aloud. "I went out too far." -Day Five

The old man acknowledges that losing the huge marlin to the sharks was his fault for going out too far, and he is still sure of himself and of his skills and abilities, even if those skills and abilities have to stay in the past. The old man should also be proud because he admitted that his loss was his own fault. He did not whine or complain, he simply took the blame.

Analysis of Manolin

The boy has a real name- it is Manolin. He is only referred to by name in the dialogue, throughout the text of the novel he is simply known as 'the boy'. The boy shares a bond with the old man (Santiago) because the old man taught the boy how to fish. The boy is the old man's only true human companion, he is the old man's only friend in life.

Manolin is probably the only person in the novel who actually believes in the old man. He knows how good the old man once was in his youth, and thinks that skill sticks with you despite how old you might get. The boy respects the old man and even looks up to him in some aspects. And the old man and the boy both enjoy each other's company. They like talking together and reading the newspaper and eating breakfast and having coffee and fishing, and those little things are all their common bonds.

Even though the old man is obviously older than the boy, the boy still takes care of the old man. He gives the man companionship when he is lonely and food when he is weak, and support when he is defeated. And the boy actually does care about the old man- he searches for him when the old man is out to sea trying to catch the marlin and he worries for the old man's safety when he is gone, out to sea all by himself.

Manolin is a very caring character. He is still young, but has responsibilities in life and handles them well for his age. And he is nurturing as well, especially when the old man comes back after being defeated and the boy wants nothing more than to take care of him. The old man was a sort of role model for the boy, and he does not like to see the old man in any kind of pain- physical, mental, or emotional.

"Suffering" Quotes

The old man does a lot of suffering in the novel The Old Man and the Sea. At a certain point, the reader feels so bad for the old man that they think it would perhaps be better for him to just give up all together. There is a lot of suffering in the story, so there are also a lot of important and significant quotes about it:

"All my life, the early sun has hurt my eyes, he thought." -Day Two.

Even the sun is causing Santiago to suffer. The sun, for Pete's sake. It hurts his old weary eyes and makes it hard for him to see. And the old man needs to see if he is going to continue to fish. But this is just one extremely small amount of suffering compared to the suffering the old man has later on in the novel, but physically and emotionally.

"It encouraged him to talk because his back had stiffened in the night and truly hurt now." -Day Three

This is an example of some of the minor physical suffering that the old man goes through. He is no longer young, and he cannot handle the physical strain of fishing like he once could, but he continues to try.

"He was comfortable but suffering, although he did not admit the suffering at all." -Day Three

Pride comes into the old man's suffering now. He is definitely in pain, but does not want to admit that his body is not as able anymore, and he is no longer young and agile. As the days wear on the old man gets weaker and weaker, forcing himself to eat raw bait just to gain a little bit of strength back.

"He was stiff and sore now and all the wounds and all the strained parts of his body hurt with the cold of the night. I hope I do not have to fight again, he thought." -Day Four

This is when the old man finally acknowledges all of his physical and emotional suffering- he only allows himself to do so after the fish is finally dead. The old man has even more troubles and suffering, however, after the sharks eat the marlin away and he goes home with empty hands and painful wounds.

"Perseverance" Quotes

Since the theme of perseverance is the largest and most important of the novel, there are many quotes throughout the story that show the importance of and focus on perseverance, and how much actually having perseverance means to the old man:

"I could just drift, he thought, and sleep and put of bight of line around my toe to wake me. But today is eighty five days and I should fish the day well." -Day Two

The old man is tired and bored while out at sea fishing. He wants to go to sleep and knows how easy that would be, but since he has not caught a fish in an entire eighty five days, the old man does not want to give up. He wants to try his hardest and finally catch a fish that he can be proud of.

"This will kill him, the old man thought. He can't do this forever. But four hours later, the fish was still swimming steadily out to sea, towing the skiff, and the old man was braced solidly with the line across his back." -Day Two

It is clear that the fish possesses perseverance just like the old man does. Neither one of them is going to give up very easily, and they will continue to fight and pull against each other until one of them wins. The old man is not wavered, and neither is the fish. They both are headstrong and extremely determined to be the winner.

"..."Fish," he said softly, aloud, "I'll stay with you until I am dead." He'll stay with me too, I suppose, the old man thought and he waited for it to be light." -Day Two

The old man wants to catch this huge fish if it is the last thing he does. And he thinks that the fish feels the same way against him. The old man knows how difficult it is going to be to kill the fish, but is very determined to do so and be the winner of their long drawn out battle. His fight with the fish is a huge display of both their determinations.

Themes

There are several themes in the novel The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway that set the plot line up for the novel. These include: perseverance, pride, suffering, skill, and defeat. The main character and protagonist, Santiago (or, simply, 'the old man) faces many difficulties in the novel and each of these themes play a part in his story.

Perseverance is probably the biggest and most important theme. The old man has not caught a fish for eighty four days, and he just keeps on trying, which is one example of the perseverance in the novel. But the biggest example of this is shown through the old man's battle with the Marlin. It continues on for days, and the old man is determined to give up on catching that giant purple marlin. And the old man never does give up. He finally kills the marlin and continues to press on, never letting go and never backing down. However, on his way back home, the marlin gets eaten by sharks and the old man has lost out and has nothing to take back home.

Pride is another theme in the novel. The old man used to be basically the best fisherman around, but now he is old and weak and has not had very good luck with his life or with his fishing. But the old man is still proud of what he once accomplished, and he is very determined to prove himself once again.

The themes of suffering and defeat can basically go together. The old man suffers while trying to catch and kill the marlin, and he is then defeated when sharks eat up the marlin before the old man can take pride in it. The old man has also suffered because he has not caught a fish for so long, and is defeated because once he finally does, it is taken away from him before anyone can see the huge marlin he caught while out at sea.

Skill is a smaller theme in the novel, but is still there nonetheless. The old man uses all the skills he possesses to catch that stupid marlin. He did well in catching it, never giving up or backing down, but his skills are pretty useless against a bunch of hungry sharks that are attracted to the blood in the water. The old man used to have a lot of great skills, but as he grew older, he lost some of them and was not as strong and agile as he used to be.

Analysis of the Old Man

The Old Man's real name is Santiago, but he is only called that when people are speaking to him. In the text, he is simply referred to as 'the old man'. The old man used to be the 'El Campeon' or 'shaft' of the fishing community. But now, he is just the old man that cannot catch a fish and that everybody laughs at. So the old man feels like he really needs to prove himself and not be a laughing stock for any longer. He think he really need to prove that he has got what it takes.

Santiago has got some pretty weird quirks. He hardly ever eats, and when he does it is for the sole purpose of gaining strength, not to nourish his body. He could be compared to the marlin, who is also trapped by his own hunger, because that is how he got caught by the old man. And then the old man eats some of the same bait he used to lure in the marlin and he is also trapped in a way.

During the old man's battle with the marlin, it is clear that he is trying to become a champion again. But he cannot really go back to his old days of being the grand champion 'El Campeon' because he has simply gotten older and weaker and cannot push his body as far as he once could back in his golden days.

The old man spends days sitting in a boat, with a fishing line across his back, bleeding from three places, and eating old, raw fish bait just so that he can catch a really big fish. It is understandable that he wants to continue doing his profession, but by the third day he is really just pushing it and going too far. He should have taken the foreshadowing of his struggle to catch the fish into account, and just went a little closer in to shore to catch some smaller fish. But no, he keeps on trying and after all of his trouble, the old man is finally able to kill the fish with his harpoon. Great, good for him. But then he goes through even more trouble to take the marlin back, and the marlin ends up getting totally devoured by sharks.

Every ounce of the old man's tireless, hard work is suddenly put to waste and he has nothing at all to show for his five day battle with a giant purple marlin.

Day Five Summary

The last day starts with the boy finding the old man asleep. The boy cries when he sees the old man's damaged hands, and continues to do so for a long time. The others are down at the beach, measuring the length of the huge marlin. They determine that it was eighteen feet. The old man and the boy talk for a while and the boy says he caught two fish the day before, but does not want to talk about them. The boy makes some coffee and brings it out for the old man, who says that "they beat me". He is not taking about the fish, though, but what happened afterwards.

As the two continue to talk the boy then says that they searched for the old man while he was gone. The old man appreciated that someone actually cared about him and his well being, and also says that he likes having someone to talk to, but does not want to fish with the boy anymore because he thinks of himself as bad luck. But the boy says he doesn't care and wants to fish with the old man anyway. They both decide that the old man needs to heal himself before he totally falls apart. The old man wants to read the newspapers from the days he was gone instead of talking anymore, and that is what he does.

All that is left of the marlin is the head, and the old man insists that they give it to Pedrico, who gave him food in the beginning of the story, instead of keeping the marlin head for himself.

Then, after all of that, it seems that life just goes back to normal for everyone. Tourists see the huge skeleton of the marlin and think that it is a shark, because they don't really understand the story when it is told. And as for the old man...the old man just goes back to dreaming about lions.

Day Four Summary

As day four begins, the old man is woken up by the marlin jerking on the fishing line. The fish starts jumping around as the old man continues to desperately hold on, cursing his hand because it has fallen asleep. As the fish continues to jump the old man begins to deliberate about what he should do, and how he should handle his hunger. He finally decides that he needs to just eat more of the raw fish even though the very thought of it makes him want to throw up, because otherwise he is sure that he will pass out from the hunger.

So he eats the fish and mentally prepares himself for the rest of the day, telling the fish to 'bring it on'. The fish then circles the boat for a couple hours, and the old man starts to pull in the line a little bit. Two other fish are bothering the marlin, and the old man does not care who gets killed, he just wants the whole process over and done with.

Finally, after being on the verge of passing out, the old man sticks a harpoon in the fish and the marlin is dead. He figures that the fish weighs over a thousands pounds, and everyone back home who used to make fun of him for his recent fishing dry spell and inability would be shocked and jealous and proud. So the old man heads home with the marlin, which unfortunately starts bleeding. And the old man knows that the blood could very well attract sharks, which would really not be good.

A shark comes along not long after and the old man harpoons it, but not before it takes a big huge bite of the of the marlin, which means the old man is losing money. The old man then says that a man can be destroyed but not defeated. But biggest problem now is that the old man lost his harpoon while fighting off the shark, and he is now basically defenseless.

More sharks start to come and now a fourth of the marlin is gone, eaten away by the sharks. By the time he nears land, there is basically none of the fish left. He makes it to shore and pulls his boat up himself, deciding that is was all his fault because he had gone out too far. And then he goes home to his shack without anything to show for all his troubles.

Conflict

The conflict in the novel The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is external- mostly man vs. man, but necessarily two specific people against each other. The protagonists and the 'good guys' are the characters like the Joad family, and many of the families that are in the same situation as they are- displaced and jobless and homeless because of the storms of the Dust Bowl. The several antagonists in the novel are simply the people these families meet along the way and set them back even further.

One example of this is the corrupt cars salesmen, who sell unsuspecting families awful cars and pretend they are getting a really good price, when the car is really just a piece of junk that has tons of things wrong with. Another example are the bank owners that have to take the land away from the people affected by the Dust Bowl. Although this is their job, it still makes them against the main characters. The biggest antagonists, however, are the landowners in California who exploit the displaced people from Oklahoma, giving them tons of hard work and poor pay and refusing to let them join unions, keeping them from getting some of the benefits and justice that they deserve.

Because of the various points of view and narrations, the reader sees the reasoning behind both the protagonists actions and (some) of the motives behind the actions of the various antagonists reactions. The protagonists and truly just trying to get their lives back on track after great loss and destruction. But the antagonists know this, and are using this knowledge to exploit their workers and get everything they can from them, even if it is totally unfair to the poor working class.

The conflict is mostly resolved in the end of the novel, even though the protagonists end up going through more loss and troubles because of the fact that they simply want justice and fair and equal treatment.

Day Three Summary

The third day of the old man's story begins, the old man and the fish are both still holding on. The day before the old man decided that he would hold on until death, and has decided that the fish must be having this same idea. The old man then talks to the fish, telling him that he loves him, but he has to kill him. And then he sees a bird flying and decides that the bird must be tired after it lands next to the man. The old man talks to the bird for a little while, telling the bird that it should not be so tired.

At this point, the old man begins to refer to the this fish as his friend. As a response, the fish pulls tightly and almost pulls the old man overboard. For like the fifth time, the old man wishes that the boy were there with him to see the old man's success and share in it. The old man then eats some tuna and sees some birds flying around, which he considers a reminder that no one is ever alone while out at see.

The old man then starts to cramp up and again wishes that the boy was there with him, but this time only so that the boy could massage away the cramps. Finally, the huge fish starts to rise to the surface and the old man sees that the fish is purple and longer than the boat is. As the old man continues to pull he thinks about how it would be easier to live as a fish- but only in some aspects.

Nothing else is happening, so the old man starts to talk about the lions he dreams of often. The old man's thoughts start to wonder from thing to thing, not really focusing on anything in particular for very long. His day continues on and his eats a raw fish and debates about what to do with the marlin that he is still battling against. Then, the day ends and he dreams about the lions again.

Day Two Summary

As day two begins, the first thing that happens is the old man getting up to use the bathroom. Then he wakes up the boy, who's name (which is really Manolin) is finally acknowledged by the old man. However, his is still referred to as 'the boy' in the text and only referred to by name by the old man.

Their day begins with the two of them carrying the old man's 'stuff' (boat gear) out. The old man then has a cup of coffee, knowing that he probably will not eat for the rest of the day because of his misfortune. The old man and the boy are up so early that the moon is still up in the sky. The man finally gets out to his skiff and starts to row out, taking in the sights and sounds and smells around him in his environment. The old man likes to watch the flying fish, as well as the birds who are constantly 'looking but never finding', which I'm guessing the old man can easily relate to. The old man sees the birds as the only creatures that are worse off than he is.


The old man knows how cruel the ocean is, yet he continues to press on. He rows all the way out to sea and uses sardines as his bait, hoping that today will be the day that he will finally catch a fish. I think that the man is more affected by his situation than his first lets on. The way he acts while he is out to sea is very different. He pretty much tries to relate with several different elements of the sea and uses some forms of personification. He calls man of war jellyfish whores, thinks that birds are stupid, and decides he would much rather catch a no fish at all than a small fish that does not measure up to his standards.


His day progresses much the same as the day before, except for that he finally catches a tuna fish. However, this does not really count because he simply uses the tuna as bait to try and catch a bigger fish. And then finally he starts to get a little luck and a marlin starts to tug on his line. The old man holds the fish hard and tightly, and he is finally getting a little luckier and the reader hopes that the old man will finally have some success.

Day One Summary

During day one in The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago is simply referred to as 'the old man', with no capitalization. When day one starts, the old man has been trying to catch a fish for eighty four days and has not succeeded. This is especially bad for the old man, because fishing is his livelihood. Others call him 'salao' which is basically their way of calling him very, very unlucky, which is true.

There is a boy (who is really Manolin), who feels bad for the old man and helps him out, determining that the two of them need to stick together especially because of the difficulties that the old man has been experiencing. The old man's real name is not used in the text except for when the boy uses it, and the boy also provides a physical description of the old man. The only description provided is that the old man is blotchy, wrinkly, and has eyes the color of the sea.

The old man was the person who taught the boy to fish, so there is really a better reason as to why the boy wants for them to stick together and to help the old man in his difficult time. The old man has gone through fishing dry spells before and it has ended before, so he is hoping this dry spell will soon end as well. The characters sit on "The Terrace" and make fun of the old man for his misfortunes, but the old man seems to be unfazed by their ridicule.

As the day goes on the young boy still wants to help the old man, but the old man wants the boy to simply watch out for himself and take care of himself instead. The rest of the first day goes by without much happening, except for the reader being introduced to where the old man lives and reading some unimportant dialogue between the old man and the boy while they are sitting in the old man's shack.

The old man sleeps on newspaper and dreams of Africa, of the lions and the beaches.

Overall Summary

The novel The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway starts quite predictably- with an old man and the sea. He is a fishermen and he has not caught a fish in eighty four days. The old man, Santiago, is not eating much, and that is related to the fact that he has not caught any fish for a long time. There is also a boy in the story, his name is Manolin. Santiago taught Manolin how to fish when he was young, and Manolin repays Santiago by bringing him food.

Throughout the novel, Santiago and Manolin and simply referred to as 'the old man' and 'the boy'. Hemingway writes the novel in a simple form, using short and choppy sentences that manage to flow together into a story. As the story goes on the reader begins to sympathize with the character, and hopes for there to be a happy ending in the story. However, the happiness in the story peeks in the middle of the storyline, and it ends with an ending that is definitely not very happy at all.

In fact, the ending is almost extraordinarily sad. When it finally seems that the old man, Santiago, has succeeded and has actually done well for himself, everything is shattered by something that is completely surprising and something that the reader did not see coming. And the reader feels really bad for what Santiago goes through after he finally catches a large fish.

The novel is not particularly interesting, but it does invoke the sympathy of the reader. Even if the reader does not enjoy the story, Santiago's struggles make the reader want to finish the book and see what happens to him in the end. However, the novel ends on a slightly unresolved note that leaves the reader wondering what will ever happen to Santiago in the future because what transpired on his way back home from fishing that last disastrous day of him going out to sea.

Writing Style

The classic novel The Grapes of Wrath is written by the author John Steinbeck. The writing style that the author uses is very detailed and in depth. He gives nearly a lot of very detailed descriptions throughout the entire story, so that the reader knows all the details of the novel, from the important ones to the not so important ones. The Joad family is described as lively, and Steinbeck even captures the approximate sounds and rhythm of the dialect in Oklahoma. At many points throughout the novel the reader feels as if they are along side the Joad's, experiencing many of the troubles they go through.

Although the Joad family and their journey through their new life is the main point of the style, Steinbeck also includes chapters detailing other parts of the Dust Bowl and other struggles that many families in the area went through. Steinbeck's writing style contains elements of both fiction and historical writing. A lot of the events detailed are repeatedly, but from different perspectives. For instance, the reader sees from the point of view of corrupt cars salesmen making their money off of unsuspecting families, bank owners evicting families from their land, and even from the perspective of the dust storms that are ruining the land.

John Steinbeck writes some parts of the story in second person, but other parts are in first person and third person, making the reader feel like they are truly a part of the novel, traveling alongside of the families that are going through so many troubles in their lives as a result of something that none of them could control. It would be easy for a lot of author's to get too wrapped up in the fictional part of the story, but Steinbeck puts just the right amount of historical facts in the story to remind the reader that many of the events of the novel really did take place with real families.

Setting

The setting in The Grapes of Wrath begins in Sallisaw, Oklahoma. The narrator gives a painfully vivid description of the disaster zone left in the wake of the dust storms that occurred while Tom was in prison. Days and weeks went by without any rain, and instead of rain came wind, scattering around all the dry dust around and ruining the once prosperous farmland.

The novel opens up with this horrible event, and the reader witnesses how the landowners and farmers and tenants were sent into poverty and despair. Their crops were totally ruined and they had no other prospects, so they simply could no longer make do.

"Every moving thing lifted the dust into the air: a walking man lifted a thin layer as high as the waist, a wagon lifted the dust as high as the fence tops, and an automobile boiled a cloud beneath it. The dust was long in settling back again...when the dust from the storm settled it settled on the corn, piled up on the tops of fence posts, piled up on wires; it settled on roofs, it blanketed the weeds and trees." -Chapter One.

Because of the destruction caused by the dust storms, the Joad family and many other families in their same situation make the decision to pack up all they have left and head to California, where they think are jobs and land available. The next setting in the novel is along Route 66, when the families are confined to the tight spaces of their cars.

After all of this, things do not get any better after they finally reached California. The work camps are overcrowded and dirty and unsafe. The first 'Hooverville' the Joad family stays at is full of starving people who have little left to their names and will fight to the death to be able to feed their families.

In some senses, California was very beautiful. But in others, it was pure destruction.

Analysis of Pa Joad

Every character in The Grapes of Wrath is effected by the events that transpire in the novel. He is the patriarch of the family, but he is usually quiet. He has his hands full with his six children, and has lived in Oklahoma for his entire life, tending to his land. In the beginning, Pa Joad is not very good at keeping calm and making decisions, but he always does the best he can.

Really, Ma Joad is the leader of the family. Pa Joad may be the father, but Ma Joad tends to take the front seat while Pa Joad is content in the back seat. And as their journey continues, Ma Joad becomes stronger and stronger and Pa Joad is just confused at all that is happening.

As things just keep getting tougher for the family, Pa Joad gets quieter and more unsure about himself and about his decisions. Every once and a while, the reader catches glimpses at how Pa Joad changes throughout the story. Times have changed, and after Pa Joad has lost nearly everything good in his life, he becomes even more quiet and more reserved. He sees the changes in his wife and in the rest of his family members, and this bewilders him. He has known the same thing for his entire life, and now that things are so different Pa Joad does not really know how to deal with everything that is happening.

When Tom returns home, Pa Joad is the first person he encounters, and this when the reader first meets Pa Joad and begins to learn about his personality and character. Then, Pa Joad and the rest of the family decide that if they are ever going to get their lives back on track, the right answer is California. Along their journy there, the entire family encounters hardship and Pa Joad starts changing rather quickly, like he is losing confidence in himself. But in the end, I think that Pa Joad steps up and just wants to take care of his family.

Tone

The tones found in the novel The Grapes of Wrath include mourning, awe, rage, and sympathy. All of these have to do with the struggles that the families in the novels are forced to face. And since the narrator is usually extremely sympathetic, sympathy is one of the more noticeable tones found in John Steinbeck's writing of the novel.

Sympathy is definitely deserved by the major characters in the novel. The Joad family garners most of the readers sympathy, however, because the narration and point of view focus on and circulate around their family unit the most. But many of the other families in the novel have gone through the same exact struggles getting to California, and met the same fate. The tone of sympathy for the characters in the novel is much deserved because of all the things they are forced to go through.

The tone of mourning ties in with the tone of sympathy, because the narrator, as well as the main characters, mourn the same losses in the novel. The death of the Joad family's dog, the death of people they met along the way, and the other numerous tragedies that the family encounters along the way.

Rage is also an important tone in the novel. The narrator as well as all of the other characters are extremely angry when they learn the truth about how life with be in California. They were expecting opportunity and land and welcoming, but that was the exact opposite of what they experienced.

The tone of awe is a lot smaller in the novel. However, in this case, the awe exhibited is not a good thing. The narrator and the characters are in awe of the greed and deception that the landowners in California exhibit. They exploit the poor and starving workers that come to them desperate for jobs, and then refuse to let them join the unions. The tone of awe is actually a negative one, because it highlights all the things that have gone wrong throughout the story.

Point of View/Narration

In the novel The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, the point of view is more complicated than just 'first person' or 'second person'. The point of view and narrative switch between different points of view for a more dramatic effect. In some of the chapters, the narrator describes events and people and places rather broadly, summarizing the experiences of a larger group of people and putting it into a sort of historical concept. And sometimes, the narration is picked up by a minor character in the story, such as a farmer or cars salesmen, expressing the thoughts and feelings and concerns that specific person is having.

And some of the time, the narration is by an unknown, anonymous individual, and sometimes this is easier to notice because the words take up an almost poetic tone, seemingly from the narrators mind and thoughts. Also, some of the chapters contain narration from a random observer that might notice something about the families they come across.

At certain points, the narration will switch from the family to an omniscient point of view, pointing out and explaining the characters thoughts, feelings, characters, motivations, and psychologies from a very detailed point of view.

Most of the time, the narrator is a person who is extremely sympathetic to what is happening to the characters in the novel. They are not only sympathetic to the migrant workers, but also to poor and unprivileged people in general. The narrator expresses sympathy with the situation that the people in the novel are going through, like when they figure out the stories told of California are really just complete lies, and when they have to practically fight to get the poor and hard jobs that are available. The narrator also has a lot of sympathy for the work done in the unions, and the problems that arise for the union organizers.

Overall, the narrator is just sympathetic and takes struggles and problems into consideration when judging and describing the characters that the reader comes across through the novel.

Gender Quotes

Although the theme of gender may be subtle in the novel The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, it is still there. It is not as prominent or as important as the bigger themes of change, family, and lying, but the theme of gender still plays a part in the novel historically, as well as by adding to the plot. The references are not big and bold and exceptionally noticeable, but there are quotes that detail the gender roles found in the novel:

"The women knew it was alright, and the watching children knew it was alright. Women and children knew deep in themselves that no misfortune was too great to bear if their men were whole." -Chapter One

Many of the women, and the children, in the novel placed a great deal of trust in the men in their lives, mainly their husbands and fathers, the heads of the family. They knew that if he said it would be alright, then it would be. If the men kept spirits up and worked hard and tried to make it out of whatever mess they were in, then it was always going to be possible to overcome whatever obstacle was in their path.

"The men sat in the doorways of their houses; their hands were busy with sticks and little rocks. The men sat still- thinking, figuring." -Chapter One

In the family dynamic, the men were thought to do the figuring and thinking. But as is displayed in The Grapes of Wrath, this wasn't always true. In the Joad family, Ma Joad does a great deal of the thinking and figuring. It seems that she is the most logical and rational, even though she is not exactly considered to be the head of the family.

"Men sang the words, women hummed the tunes." -Chapter Seventeen

This is one of the extremely subtle quotes that displays the gender roles in the novel. I think that this quote is a type of symbolism- men were physically strong, but the women were the ones that were strong in less noticeable ways, like emotionally.

"Lying" Quotes

Along with the important themes of change and family, lying is also one of the main themes of the novel The Grapes of Wrath. The main lie that is told in the story is when the jobless and homeless people effected by the Dust Bowl were told that there was plenty of jobs to go around in California, even though that was an absolute lie. The truth was that while there were jobs in California, there were way too many people competing for these jobs. There are also a lot of quotes in the novel that go along with the theme of lying:

"Goin' to California? Here's just what you need. Looks shot, by they's thousan's of miles in her." -Chapter Seven (Spoken by a cars salesman).

The worst of the deception starts to occur while the Joad family and Jim begin their journey to the promise land that is California. There were many people, just like the cars salesman, who made their money by decieving unknowing families that were too trusting and did not know any better. The cars might have looked solid and sturdy, but even if the physical appearance of the car was good, that did not mean the car would function well on the journey to California.

"That's what you think! Ever heard of the border patrol on the California line?...If you can't buy no real estate, we don't want you." -Chapter Twelve

This is the first real moment that the Joad family realizes that their California dream is really little more than a harsh reality and will most likely never come true. Their idea of what California will be like is quickly shattered when they figure out that people don't really want them there, the job market is not as good as they were told, and that they will most likely never find success living in California despite what the lying yellow flyers claimed.

The families headed to California were lied to from the start, and now they are possibly worse off than they had been before.

"Family" Quotes

The theme of family is also important in the novel The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. It is crucial for the families in the novel to stick together, because they are each other's hope, inspiration, and reason for working so hard. Since family is such a big element of the novel, there are several quotes that go along with it:

"She walked for the family and held her head straight for the family." -Chapter Thirteen

Ma Joad is an very strong character, and she is the rock and stability for the Joad family. Their is not a doubt that she is the stone pillar of the family. The reader cannot help but question how far the Joad's would have made it in their new life if Ma Joad had not been there to lead them and keep them strong and hopeful, even when things were at their worst. She supports her family in a way that no one else can.

"And then all of a sudden, the family began to function." -Chapter Ten

At some times, the Joad family seems to be able to communicate to each other without the use of the words. It seems like they sometimes just know what the other's need, and they work together to see things through. Sadly, as things got worse for the family, they were able to anticipate each other's needs less and less, and this caused them to have problems and grow apart in some ways. They are no longer as tuned in to each other, and as a result of this their family changes even further.

"The families moved westward, and the technique of buildings their worlds improved so that people could be safe in their worlds; and the form was so fixed that a family acting in the rules knew it was safe in the rules." -Chapter Seventeen

Although the country has allowed for these peoples homes and lands to be taken from them, the country has done little to help these people rebuild the shambles of their lives. Because of this, it is almost like these effected people are as in their own country, sticking to their own rules of survival. Despite their communities, the families have no true structure.

"Change" Quotes

In the novel The Grapes of Wrath, the characters go through extreme changes in their life, and change is one of the main themes found in the novel- and is probably the most important one. There are many quotes in the novel that give the reader some insight into the emotional and physical changes going on, but there are several that really stick out.

"Fella gets use' to a place, it's hard to go."- Chapter Six

It was extremely hard for the Joad family to leave their farm in Oklahoma after the destruction of the Dust Bowl, not only because they had lived there their whole entire lives, but because their parents, and their parents had lived their entire lives their as well. They had tended to the land, coaxed crop out of it, and then suddenly, that was all gone. The Joad's have to start all over and go to a place they've only ever heard about.

"But you can't start. Only a baby can...the drought years are us, we can't start again." -Chapter Nine

This quote is spoken by some of the tenant farmers. They are practically hopeless because it is seemingly impossible to them to be able to start over fresh, and the best they can hope for is that their children will get that opportunity instead. The Joad's realize that there is no real way to start their lives completely over- they have already started living.

"This you may say of man- when theories change...only half a step, never the full step back." -Chapter Fourteen

When we today think about change, we usually think of things that happen easily and naturally- our ages, our friends, and the little things in life that we take for granted. But the change that the Joad family, along with thousands of other families in their same situation, is not easy in the slightest. The change they experience is forced upon them, and even when they accept it, life does not get any easier.

Analysis of Ma Joad

The character of Tom's mother, Ma Joad, is first introduced through a story that Tom tells Muley Graves and Jim Casy:

"I seen her beat the hell out of a tin peddler with a live chicken 'cause he gave her an argument. She had the chicken in one hand and the axe in the other, about to cut his head off. She aimed to go for the peddler with that ax, but she forgot which hand is which, and she takes after him with the chicken". (John Steinbeck).

It is very clear from the beginning of the novel that Ma Joad is a very strong, tough female character. She also has a strong intuition, which is exhibited the best when she starts to doubt the prospects that the family will find in California. But the family has to go anyway, if they want any chance of survival. Ma Joad is also the backbone of her family. She took care of them and made sure that they all knew their place in the family dynamic, and provided them with the strength and encouragement they needed to press on and survive..

Even though Ma Joad does not have an easy life, she remains cool, calm, and collected. She loses her house and her land, but manages to remain as solid and strong as a rock because the family cannot survive without her. Ma Joad's outlook on life and her strong personality is what makes the members of the Joad family the way that they are.

By the end of the novel, you would think that Ma Joad would be worn down and stretched thin and ready to give up, but this is not the case. She is a strong woman in the beginning of the novel, and she is the same strong woman at the end of the novel. All of the tragedy and change only made her fiercer and stronger and more determined to see her family survive.

Analysis of Jim Casy

In the novel The Grapes of Wrath, the character Jim Casy first seems to be simple and to the point. However, as the storyline develops, it is clear that the author did not write the character of Jim Casy to simply be a lecherous ex-preacher that Tom Joad encounters on his way home to Oklahoma after being released from jail.

If the reader looks further in Jim Casy's storyline, it becomes apparent that he is like the spiritual compass for the Joad family and for the entire book. Starting with his introduction into the novel, Casy is adamant in his beliefs, which are not unlike those of Ralph Waldo Emerson. The two share the belief that there is one giant, invisible, collective that contains the souls of all the other creatures of the world. Jim tells Tom, "Maybe men've got one big soul everybody's a part of". Throughout the novel the reader witnesses Jim putting his own personal philosophy together piece by piece, and sharing it with others.

Jim's philosophy leads him to California with the Joad family, and it is there that he gains interest in the treatment of his fellow laborers. From there, Jim decides that his true calling was not to work as a preacher, but instead to fight for equality and justice for the mistreated migrant workers in California. But his work with the unions and his fight for equality lead to Jim's death. However, even after Jim dies, his work is continued through Tom, so he did not have to die in vain.

Because of this, Jim is considered a martyr- he lived and died for his beliefs. There have been several people to compare the character of Jim Casy to that of Jesus Christ, at least in the context of the fiction novel. Jim wandered in the wilderness, developed a philosophy, and loved others so much that he wanted them to be equals and have the things they needed in life.

Other Themes

While 'change' is a huge theme in the novel The Grapes of Wrath, there are a lot of smaller but still important themes as well. These include family, lying, deceit, and even the issue of gender is found as a theme in the novel.

Family is another big theme in the book. It is a means of survival. If they did not have each other, the Joad family would have no way to cope with all of the loss and change they experience on the way to California, nor everything they encounter after reaching their destination in California. As the novel progresses, the Joads and other families in their same situation, have to learn that they will be stronger and safer if they keep together as a family and reach out to other families as well and build a community based on the things they all have in common.

The entire novel is centered on one lie that is told to thousands of people: California is a land of plenty, there are jobs and places full of opportunity. After being torn apart by the Dust Bowl and poverty, people are eager to believe that there could be better life waiting for them all the way out in California. So many families, like the Joad family, put together the things they still have and make their way to California to claim the opportunities that were promised. However, they quickly find out that it is all a lie. The families that fell for these lies thought that their worries could be forgotten after they finally reached California, but they were extremely wrong.

Gender is an issue that has been debated for a long time before us and will probably be for a long time after us. And in The Grapes of Wrath, gender is brought up as a theme. While the men lose their lands and their jobs and their hope, the women look on and look to their husbands for what their reactions should be. While this seems a little degrading, it is simply how things were historically. Men worried about the money and the women trusted their fathers and then their husbands to take care of them. While gender is not exactly an issue in the novel, it is a theme that reminds the reader of the time period and of how things worker with gender roles.

Themes: Change

There are several themes in the novel The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, from family and religion to deceit and betrayal. The themes of a novel are what give the shape and help formulate the plot, and the themes can all be very similar or very different. Most of the time, it depends on the author, setting (both location and time), and beliefs depicted throughout the story.

But the biggest theme of all that is exhibited in The Grapes of Wrath is something as simple as change. Everyone in the world experiences changes each and every day of their lives, and those changes make a huge impact. For the Joad family, and many of the other people they come across, change is nothing new and is usually not for the better. Tom Joad, along with the rest of his family and Jim Casy, go through a huge change when they are forced to leave their Oklahoma farm after the destruction of the Dust Bowl. After they must make this change to their lives, they have to endure the hardships of their travels and then the struggles that are brought along with the work troubles in California, a land that was supposed to hold promise and hope but instead seems like a death sentence. In the novel, readers see the Joad family as they are forced to cope with the change that is thrust upon them. However, the family manages to cope with things as they stick together and remember that they are a family and will always stand by each other.

Change is an extremely bittersweet factor in the novel because it has obviously been imposed on thousands of families who would much prefer for things to stay the same. But no one has a choice- they all learn that they are going to have to either go along with the change that is practically being forced upon them, or be crushed and completely ruined by it.

Writing Style

The unique writing style that is found in the novel The Catcher in the Rye cannot really be called traditional. The author, J.D. Salinger, uses Holden as the narrator, and so it is Holden narrating his own story. The writing style of the entire novel is the same as the style that he uses in his own every day speech- Holden talks directly to the reader, saying things like "you would have like him" instead of using a more proper writing format. Holden also swears and using slang words that are not traditionally used, but the different writing style is very appealing and makes parts of the story a lot easier to relate to or understand. Also, Holden uses italics to place emphasis on certain words, which allows the reader to understand the way that Holden is talking about something.

Instead of using this kind of writing in just the dialogue, J.D. Salinger uses it in the narration as well, through the storytelling of Holden Caulfield. At the time, and even now, this style of writing is not often seen. However, while this is unusual, it is often important to the novel. The writing is unique and a little different, just like Holden. It may not fit in just right, but that is exactly the way Holden is too. I think that the way the writing style ties in with the personality of the main character is one of the things that makes The Catcher in the Rye a classic that isn't completely awful to read.

The writing style is also a good way to understand some of the vernacular of the story, especially because it was written decades ago, before any of its readers were even born. Because the novel is written in first person narration, Holden is also providing his own running commentary to the events and people in that he encounters in the novel, making them seem more vivid and descriptive.

Key Issues 2

Another key issue with Holden Caulfield's character in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is his hypocrisy. Throughout the entirety of the novel Holden is accusing other people, even strangers, as being fake and phony and impossible to trust. However, by the end of the story it is very clear that Holden is the biggest phony of all. For one, he despises people who value their material things, but he himself takes great pride in the possessions he has, like his red hunting cap that makes him feel unique and special.

Even though Holden is not a good liar, and admits it himself, he does lie several times throughout the novel, seemingly without any kind of serious thought beforehand, hesitation, or actual guilt. Holden is doing what he thinks is right and good and acceptable, even though this is not always the case. Holden never tells the truth to people who ask, and the reader can't even be sure if he is lying through his narration as well. While Holden's story is not far-fetched and unbelievable, Holden gains a reputation with the reader for always putting a little extra spin onto the end of the stories he tells.

Another big issue is Holden's resentment towards his parents. Holden holds a big grudge against them for sending him to an out of state private school, even if they thought they were doing it for his own good and for theirs. Despite that the fact that they do care about their son, Holden believes that they feel he is useless, and that is why he thinks they send him away. And even after being expelled from his school, Holden refuses to face his parents until the very end of the novel. I think that both parties have some sorting out to do, but Holden needs to believe that his parents aren't completely phonies and that they love him and will do what they believe is best for their son.

Key Issues 1

Holden Caulfield is a very complicated, usually hard to understand, and always troubled character in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. In the very beginning of the novel, when Holden begins his narration of his experiences, the reader is slightly swayed by Holden's opinions, thoughts, and words. And because their is no counter-narrator introduced until later in the novel, the reader tends to believe the things that Holden is saying, or at least slightly understand why he thinks that in that certain way. But Holden is an extremely unreliable narrator because of the way his mind works, and also because of some of the issues he has had in his relatively short life.

One major issue introduced in the novel is Holden's mental breakdown. In the novel, Holden is just recovering from a nervous breakdown, and this is obvious in some of his behaviors. Holden tries to save children from having to grow up and lose the innocence and simplicity that comes along with childhood, but when he realizes this is impossible it is almost like he loses all will to live. Holden's biggest idea in life is that childhood is everything good in the world. He thinks that children are the only truly good people, and he wants to protect them from the lies and phoniness that he is convinced comes along with becoming an adult. Because of his realization that his ideas are impossible, Holden cannot deal with reality and loses it, practically becoming insane.

Another issue in Holden's life is dealing with other people around him. Most kinds of social interactions are very hard for Holden to handle, and he has a bad habit of judging people before he even gets to know them. Since he thinks all adults are phony and corrupt, he has a very hard time with opening himself up to people and trusting them. Holden is a very insecure character, and he is very noticeably immature as well.

Setting

The setting of a literary work is the general location, historical time, and social circumstances in which the fictional or dramatic takes place. The setting is usually established through some kind of description, either through one of the characters or through the narrator.


In The Catcher in the Rye, the time of the setting remains mostly the same- it takes place during a long weekend in the late 1940's or early 1950's. But location wise, the setting changes several times. Holden begins to tell his story in Pennsylvania, which is the location of his former school, Pencey Prep. Then, Holden begins to recount his adventures during his long weekend in New York City. The author did a good job describing the various places that Holden visited during his short stay in the city, making it a lot easier to distinguish between the different places throughout the story.

In his relatively short visit, Holden visits apartments and bars and even the zoo. Descriptions written by the author, J.D. Salinger, are told through Holden's slightly limited but nonetheless perceptive point of view. Despite the many places Holden wanders through, there are three main settings. The first of the three is Pencey Prep, the previously mentioned school that Holden had just been expelled from in the beginning of the novel. The second is Holden's older brother D.B.'s room, where Holden stayed after sneaking into his own house for a place to sleep. The final important setting is at the zoo, where Holden takes Phoebe to ride the carousel.

Although Holden might not have spent a lot of time in these three different places, they all hold a sort of significance. Pencey Prep was an extremely important setting because if Holden had not been expelled, the entire story could not have taken place. The events at Pencey Prep is what started the novel off. D.B.'s room in Holden's parents house is also an important setting, because it displays how childish Holden is and how he didn't want his parents to know that he had been expelled and that he had snuck home for the weekend.

The setting at the zoo, however, is probably the most important. When Holden takes Phoebe to the carousel and watches her ride, he feels happier than he has in a very long time. Seeing Phoebe's childhood and innocence and simplicity reminds Holden of all that he belives is good in life.

Analysis of Tom Joad

The main character and protagonist of the novel The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is Tom Joad. As the novel opens, Tom is just getting out of prison after serving over four years in prison for a manslaughter conviction. Tom immediately makes it clear that he believes that his four years in prison made him a man who devotes all his time and energy to the present moment. He says that the future is too far off for it to really concern him. Despite this philosophy, Tom is not a selfish character. Instead, his outlook on life is a kind of coping mechanism for him. Tom fears that if he looks at life with a larger view, he will drive himself mad with fear and worry and uncertainty.

However, Tom displays rare strength, moral certainty, and thoughtfulness throughout the story. He also stands up for and defends the things that he feels strongly about, as is exhibited through his work with the union. Even though he is content with taking life one day at a time, Tom seems to have too much potential for this. If he would have started looking at the big picture from the beginning, I think that the novel would have had a slightly different tone. But as the novel progesses, Tom realizes that he needs to get rid of this 'seize the day' kind of attitude and start thinking long-term so that he can better the future.

As Tom and the rest of his family, plus Jim, start their journey westwards, Tom reluctantly starts to listen to John's philosophy and preachings, becoming almost like a disciple to what John has to teach. John was a former preacher, and through his ideas and teaching he tells Tom that a single person can achieve little in life and have little effect on the world without first devoting himself to the people around him. Thanks to Jim's teachings, Tom starts to realize what his true purpose in life it. After they get to California and reunite, Tom knows that he cannot just sit back and watch people being mistreated or see the injustice of the world. The work oppurtunities in California were so competitive that Tom knew he could no longer stand taking money home to his family knowing that his small success meant another family could be so much worse off.

In the end of the novel, Tom has taken on a different plan for life. Instead of focusing only on his family and himself, he finally realizes that his purpose in life is to fight for the struggling people all around him.

Summary

The novel The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck begins when the main character, Tom Joad is paroled from prison for homicide. Tom begins his journey back home to the family farm in Oklahoma, and along the way he runs into a former preacher by the name of Jim Casy, and the two travel together. Jim accompanies Tom to his home, only to find it and all the neighboring farms deserted as a result of the Dust Bowl. Soon after an old neighbor wanders by and tells Tom that everyone has left the land, and that he will find his family in California with Tom's uncle, John. When Tom and Jim arrive at Uncle John's house, Tom finds his parents packing up their belongings and planning to head to California in search of work.

Tom has to break his parole to leave Oklahoma for California, but he decides to take the risk anyway. The Joad family, along with Jim, set off for work in California, discovering along the way that seemingly every family affected by the Dust Bowl is on their way to California as well. On their way west on Route 66, the Joad family discovers that the job prospects are not as good as they originally thought. However, they have no other options and must continue their journey. Along the way, the family faces many hardships and death and tragedy.

Once they all finally reach California, they encounter a lot of hostility. The work camps are overcrowded and full of immigrants who are overworked and tired and starving. The family, along with John, struggle to find work. Things do not get any easier as the novel progresses, but Tom and John grow closer and become good friends. As their tough work continues, Tom starts to become interested in the exploitation of workers and the union. Eventually the union workers become violent, and John is killed. Witnessing this, Tom kills the policeman who killed John. Since Tom is now a fugitive, he has to run away. Before he goes, he bestows upon his mother some of the wisdom he learned from John. He tells her that wherever he runs to, he will always be a tireless advocate for the oppressed.

Motifs

Motifs are recurring contrasts, structures, and literary devices that are used in writing to help develop about major themes. In The Catcher in the Rye, motifs that are used are relationships, loneliness, and lying. These are used to highlight the themes of alienation, growing up, and phoniness.

Relating to the larger theme of alienation, motifs dealing with relationships and sexuality are referred to in the novel. Holden Caulfield, the main character, tries to have physical and emotional connections with people to try and break out of his shell, but ultimately fails because he does not know how to go about things like that. Sexuality is something that Holden can not ignore, and he goes looking for intimacy. However, this means that Holden with have to interact and socialize with people his own age, which is something that he would usually prefer not to do because of his distrust towards adults.

Much like relationships, loneliness is a motif used in the novel that ties back to the main theme of alienation. Holden tries to connect with people some of the time, but the rest of the time he keeps to himself and shies away from others. In his quest for companionship, Holden tries to make one meaningless connection to the next, without ever really being able to connect with the other person in the relationship. At the same time, Holden uses isolation and loneliness as a form of protection. So Holden is caught between two extremes- wanting a intimate connection, and wanting to protect himself from others by remained detached. Because of his, Holden often sabotages his own attempts that connecting with other people, sometimes without even meaning to.

The motifs of lying and deception lead to the understanding of the theme of phoniness in the novel. Holden seems to reserve the most judgement and scorn for people that he believes are fake. Despite this, Holden refuses to see his own shortcomings, which make him just as 'fake' and 'phony' as the people he unfairly judges.

Tone

The tone of the novel The Catcher in the Rye is set by the main character, Holden Caulfield's, outlook on life and on other people. Holden views the world with ugly eyes, seeing bitterness, cynicism, and disgust. Because of this, the novel carries these tones as well, but delivered by the author in a colloquial style that is a little easier to understand and relate to. Along with the slightly unappealing tones of the novel, there is also a nostalgic longing that Holden experiences and often speaks of and thinks about.

Holden seems to have always struggled to live normally, so in some aspects he has given that up all together. Instead of trying mesh with society like many people do, Holden instead becomes a critic, judging people and finding all the errors he can. In a way, this is a reassurance to Holden. He already tends to think as adults as bad and fake people, so his warped perception and judging of people is just more support to his beliefs. The novel is also cynical, just like Holden. "Cynic" is defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary as "a person who believes that only selfishness motivates human actions and who disbelieves in selfless acts". Holden firmly believes that adults have ulterior motives and that their phoniness is the worst possible quality in the world. However, Holden somehow fails to realize that not everyone has an ulterior motive, and that not every adult is fake.

Because of his inability to interact with others (namely adults), Holden has become bitter. This is one of the reasons he despises the idea of adulthood so much, and why he looks down on so many people when he himself is flawed. On some level, Holden knows that he is extremely different than other people, and not necessarily in a good way. He may not want to acknowledge this, but it is always going to be there, and is always going to be true.

Conflict (Man vs. Society)

The second of the two main conflicts in The Catcher in the Rye is an external conflict between the troubled protagonist of the novel, Holden Caulfield, and all of (adult) society. Holden's conflict with others is created and influenced through his internal conflict- because he cannot cope with himself, he is also unable to cope with and understand other members of society.

Holden is unable to relate to the other characters in the novel, with the exception of his younger sister, Phoebe. Holden is still trying to connect with his childhood, but at the same time he tries to fit in with certain parts of the adult world, like when he goes to a bar and tries to proposition women. His belief that adults are phonies (which actually causes some of the conflict within his own mind) is one reason that he is unable to relate to adults- he doesn't want to become fake and phony, like he thinks all adults are. Holden continues to be unable to communicate properly with others throughout the novel, and that is his main reason for isolation.

Another reason for Holden's conflict with others is that he judges people too much. His knee-jerk reaction is to try and read people, but he usually does not have the correct perception. Most of the time, he prematurely labels others as being fake or shallow or phony without really interacting with the person on a more personal level. Holden's unrealistically high standards makes it impossible for other people to measure up, and even Holden does not meet his own standards for people. Holden's conflict with others is a big problem, and because of it he is unable to really have an adult life. He isolates himself and is unable to have friends or enemies or people to confide in, other than his little sister. Holden does not get to live a normal life because of the issues he has with himself and with others.

Conflict (Man vs. Self)

One of the two main conflicts in The Catcher in the Rye is an internal conflict, between the main character Holden Caulfield and his own self. The issue is within Holden's psyche- part of him wants to try and connect with other people on a mature, adult level, but the other part of Holden's character wants to reject all things having to do with adulthood and phoniness all together.

The childlike part of Holden wants to simply retreat into memories of childhood, leaving behind maturity and responsibility. Holden has an irrational fear of growing up, so a big part of his character wants to regress into the innocence and simplicity of the childhood he should have left behind a long time ago. This part of Holden also led him to his times of seclusion, when he shuts himself off completely and wants nothing to do with other people, especially adults.

However, the more grown up and mature part of Holden does seek out to make connections with other people. But the main reason that Holden wishes to connect with others is so that he can have the possibility of sexual encounters. This is the part of adulthood that Holden cannot ignore, and the one that appeals to him the most. But Holden still has a difficult time dealing with everyday life, mostly because he continues to think that all the adults around him are lying phonies. This is the biggest reason for his mental distress- his own mind is working against himself and causing his introversion towards adults.

As the novel progresses, Holden's thoughts almost seem to be working against himself, and it gets to a point where he can no longer truly cope with the reality of his life. Holden slowly because less capable of functioning within society because of his constant thoughts of his childhood. He is not at all comfortable with his present life, and continues to yearn to return to the childhood he once had. Holden ultimately becomes a prisoner of his own mind, and is unable to cope with his transition into adulthood and life in general.

Irony

The novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is filled with moments and examples of irony. One major example of this is Holden Caulfield's behavior and attitude towards the people that he refers to as 'phonies'. He starts to characterize pretty much everyone, especially adults, as being a phony however, and in chapter two Holden says: "One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies". One reason that adulthood troubles Holden so much is that he thinks becoming an adult will also cause him to become phony, because he has somehow become convinced that adults must be phony, like is it mandatory that you must be a fake to be an mature adult. However, as the novel progresses, Holden ironically begins to seem phony as well. He deceives people and lies to people to conceal his identity, which makes him just as fake as what he thinks adults are. Holden even admits that he is not a good liar, which just makes his own phoniness more obvious to others and makes him a character that can be easily disliked and hard to sympathize.

Another example of irony in the novel is found in Holden's religious outlook. He says that he absolutely despises religion and people who act of disciples of God, but then Holden seems to completely go back on his previous opinions, saying that he admires Jesus. A big part of the irony in the novel is Holden being a total and complete hypocrite. It's almost like he is unable of sticking to one idea or belief, and switches these around to what he thinks is right at the moment.

As the novel moves forward and Holden continues to try and define himself, Holden begins to think of himself as the only truly genuine person left in the entire world, even though he is eventually revealed to be just as fake and superficial as everybody else is. Holden tries to make himself seem different, but by doing this, he simply alienates himself and pushes himself further away from society.

Analysis of Phoebe Caulfield

Phoebe Caulfield is the younger sister of Holden Caulfield, the protagonist and narrator of The Catcher in the Rye. In the beginning of the novel, Holden implies that he is basically the only good, noble person in a world of superficial and phony adults. His opinion is the only one given, so there is nothing to compare this to. But then when Phoebe's character is introduced, the reader has a different opinion to take into account.

However, having Phoebe's narration in the novel starts to slightly complicates things, and it soon becomes obvious that she is angered and even confused by the ideas that Holden has come up with and supports. Despite the fact that Phoebe is about six years younger than her brother, she completely understands that growing up is inevitable, and that eventually everyone is going to have to mature and take on responsibility if they want to be adults who can function in society and have a real life. Phoebe is angry with Holden's outlook on life, and wants him to understand what she does. Because she loves her older brother, Phoebe does try to understand him and wants him to be happy.

Next to the delusions of Holden's minds, Phoebe seems incredibly mature, both emotionally and mentally. Holden starts to look more and more foolish, and the reader starts to trust Phoebe more than Holden, because she is so much more stable. It is easier to trust her judgement, especially when it comes to her brother. Because of this, Holden starts looking worse and becomes much harder to trust after hearing Phoebe's side of the story and view of things.

A big part of Phoebe's role in the novel is helping Holden to see how much he oversimplifies things. For instance, it is Phoebe that makes Holden's picture of childhood- his idea of being the catcher in the rye while children play in the field- an oversimplified, childish fantasy. And this is her role in the novel...to reveal her brother for the childish hypocrite that he really is.

Quotes

There are several quotes in The Catcher in the Rye that help to set the theme of the novel. One, for instance, was from the character of Holden Caulfield, who is the narrator:

"Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around- nobody big, I mean- except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff- I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all." - J.D. Salinger, page 173

This quote, which also gives the novel its title and is probably the most famous quote from the book, reveals Holden's fantasy of idealistic and innocent childhood and a role of protector for himself. This quote also proves more of Holden's disillusions about childhood and adulthood. He sees adulthood and responsibility and maturity as a threat, and thinks that childhood and innocence is everything that is good in life. Holden very much prefers this fantasy to true life, and when he realizes that this idea may be a little 'crazy' he still has trouble seeing the world in any other way, and can come up with no other pragmatic ideas.

"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all the David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth." (Holden Caulfield) -J.D. Salinger, page 1

In this quote, Holden immediately reveals how little tolerance he actually has. Later on, he is revealed to be very much a hypocrite. He builds nearly impossible standards for people, even when they are standards that he himself cannot live up to.